CAHS - Community Walk

TPACK:Changing the face of the English classroom

The Top 3....or so.

Go-to instructional strategies:

1. Explicit Teaching
2. Cooperative Learning Groups
3. Discussion

UbD Stages 2 and 3

Stage 2 Performance Task

(Make sure your performance task is authentic and real world based.)

GRASPS. The goal states the purpose of the task; the role explains student involvement in the scenario; the audience identifies the people the students address; the situation explains the scenario; the product is the tangible evidence of student understanding; and the standards/criteria describes how students can complete the task successfully.

G	The students will practice reading strategies (previewing, seeking out background information, and predicting) by scanning information, sharing and compiling that information, and making predictions based from it.  The selected information will be submitted to the instructor in written format.
R	The student will research a given topic area relating to the book (author, Nigerian history, or Ibo culture); they will share that knowledge with fellow classmates.
A	Because the students are only researching one of the three given topics, they are relying on each other for knowledge in the other topic areas.
S	Students will scan the book and Internet for materials relevant to their particular topic; students must delineate which information is pertinent and which is not.
P	Students will create a worksheet of four important points from their selected topic area; that will then be shared with two other students (for a total of 12 important points).  Students will use that information to make predictions about the text.
S	Students will include information that is related to their topic as their important points.  Students’ predictions will be derived from the information that is gathered.  Students’ writing abides by Standard English guidelines.

 Performance Task Narrative:

Students will perform independent work by previewing the text, Things Fall Apart.  They will perform background research on one of the given topic areas (author, Nigerian history, or Ibo culture) by conducting a web-based search.  They will select four important points from their topic and share it with students from the other two groups.  That information will be compiled and used to make predictions about what the text will include.  The data from the previous activities will be submitted in written format by each student.

Facets of Understanding Use of Facets in this Unit / Lesson

(discussion of how the students will be able meet the 6 facets through your performance task)

Explanation- theories which provide justifiable accounts of events, actions, and ideas	Students will explain to fellow classmates why they see their selected information as relevant to their topic.
Interpretation Interpretations, narratives, and translations that provide meaning	When scanning for information, students will have to discern whether the information presented is pertinent or not.
Application Ability to use knowledge effectively in new situations and diverse contexts	Students will use their newfound knowledge to make predictions regarding the text.
Perspective Critical and insightful points of view	Students will listen to each other and better understand one another’s reasoning after listening to each other’s explanations on selection of information.
Empathy The ability to get inside another person’s feelings and worldview	Students will understand their classmates’ reasoning for selecting the information, whether or not they actually agree with it.
Self-knowledge The wisdom to know one’s ignorance and how one’s patterns of thought and action inform as well as prejudice understanding	Listening to others’ important points within your own topic area will help illumine things you omitted or did not initially see as valuable.

Stage 3

Use the WHERETO to help build you lesson plans.

W	Students have read books before, but to varying degrees of success and interest.  Practicing pre-reading strategies is critical for better understanding the rest of the text; this directly connects to students’ impressions of success or enjoyment associated with reading.
H	Think of a trilogy.  What do you do you if you haven’t seen the other two parts of the story?  These pre-reading strategies are applicable for “filling in the gap.”
E	Students will apply the pre-reading process to get ready for the text they will be reading.
R	Students will see the connection this process has for other facets of education and life.  What do I do when I’m not familiar with a book, topic, world issue??
E	Students must decide whether the information gathered is pertinent to their topic or not.
T	The information students present can be of various mediums including text, audio, video, or imagery.  This may be more accessible to varying learning styles as well as students entering the class at different reading levels or English proficiencies.
O	Start off with a question: What do you do if you don’t know something???  Hook – think of Harry Potter (or other series).  Can you just jump into it?  What do you need to do to get ready to watch the last part of it?  Reading a book can take the same process.  Previewing, conducting background research, and making predictions derived from that information are all helpful pre-reading strategies.  Students will first preview the text, then conduct background research derived from topic areas they previewed, share that information with fellow classmates, and make predictions about the text they will be reading.

Lesson plan:

1.     Ask students questions to get them thinking about problem-solving and appropriate processes: What do you do when you don’t know about something? (ie. Your friend references bmx bikes, and you’ve never heard of them.) Or how about if you haven’t seen the first movies in a series, and your friends want to go watch the final Harry Potter movie.  What should you do?

2.     The process for addressing those situations is similar to the strategies you use for pre-reading (previewing, conducting background research, and predicting).

3.     Check for background knowledge for the text.  Share any connections.

4.     Do a previewing of the book.  What sort of information can you glean from the front cover, author description, etc.?  Share findings as a whole class.

5.     Use that information as a basis for the topics that will be researched – presumably author, Nigerian history, and Ibo culture.

6.     Students will be divided into three groups.  One group will research the author, one will research Nigerian history, and the last will research Ibo culture.  Each student will select four important points related to that topic that he/she will later share with students from the other two groups.  (Jigsaw model)  The important points students select to share can be of various media such as text, video, audio, or imagery.

7.     Students will use computers to conduct background research on their selected topic area.

8.     Students will share their important points with two other students representing the other two topic areas.  They will explain why they chose those bits of information when necessary.

9.     Students will record the other four points from each other’s topics.  They will ask for clarification when necessary.

10.  Students will use that body of information to make predictions about what is to come in the text.  As a class that information will be shared and common themes as well as divergences will be noted.

11.  The pre-reading and problem solving process will be connected to out-of-class application.  The success of the pre-reading process will also be tied to one’s success/enjoyment of the text yet to come.  See the connection?

Required Materials:

-       Things Fall Apart texts (30)

-       Computers

o   Internet accessible

o   Power hookups

-       Printer

-       Paper

-       Speakers

-       Projector

UbD Stage 1 - Reading Strategies

Pre-reading Strategies for Things Fall Apart


Summary of Curricular Context: (consider including what prior knowledge students might need for this lesson)

This lesson is designed for grade 9 English students. The students have an English proficiency level adequate for reading this text, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. They are familiar with the typical fictional story format and have read full-length texts in English before. They are computer literate, knowing how to navigate their way in Windows OS, Internet browsers, and implementing standard word processing skills. They have used this “jig-saw” format before where groups become responsible for presenting a particular body of knowledge to their fellow classmates and vice versa.

Standard / Objectives for Unit or Lesson: (Illinois and, or ISTE NETS)

State Goal 1: Read with understanding and fluency.

1.B.4a: Preview reading materials, clarify meaning, analyze overall themes and coherence, and relate reading with information from other sources.

Lesson Goal:

Effectively implement pre-reading strategies (previewing, finding background information, predicting) for better understanding of Things Fall Apart.

Stage 1
Enduring Understandings - What are the overarching enduring understandings for the unit/lesson? (big ideas that transcend the unit)

1. Why do we read?
2. How do we understand what we read?

Essential Questions - What are the essential questions you can ask to guide inquiry?

1. How could this information be relevant to the story?
2. How does this information influence your prediction of what is to come?


Knowledge & Skills

Knowledge:

- An author’s personal history and experiences may or may not be incorporated into his/her writing.
- Know what a prediction is
- Know how to use web-based search engines
- Know that reading is a process
- Know that there are various strategies to aid in one’s reading process

Skills:

- Able to scan text for general understanding
- Able to make predictions based from a body of information
- Able to decide which information is pertinent to help in understanding of a story
- Able to listen for information from classmates and record that information
- Able to apply reading strategies at the appropriate time in the reading process

The Players in the Classroom

This clip is from Second City and shows a college classroom. I'm assuming they're younger, maybe freshmen, judging by their behavior and lack of zeal. When the teacher starts addressing the class, no one responds and just continues whatever they were previously doing (talking on their phone, chatting with friends). She does know the students by name, and they do respond once she calls on them individually. This clip is making fun of both the students and the teacher. The students take absolutely no responsibility for their learning and have no qualms about outrightly refusing to do the work. Then comes in the typical, "Oh, college life is so hard," complaints. Which there is some legitimacy to those pressures that students are undergoing. There can be a lot of hats to wear as well as family issues, but the reality is that college students (I among them) are among a small percentage of people in the world who actually get to enjoy that pleasure and privledge. The professor depicts some of the challenges that I believe women particularly have to rifle through with balancing and/or choosing to have a family and profession. The comic effect comes in with the bizaar twist at the end of the teacher spilling entirely too much personal information with her students. You could feel sorry for her if she didn't creep you out with her craziness. Watch the clip and enjoy!

Exranormal - aka Extrawesome!